RAY BRADBURY'S SHORT STORIES

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VIDEO STORIES FOR CHILDREN

Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

Silly Suzy Goose by Petr Horacek from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

Penguin by Polly Dunbar from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

Noah's Ark by Lucy Cousins from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

Ho, Ho, Ho, Tucker! by Leslie McGuirk from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

Goodnight, Harry by Kim Lewis from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

Baby Brains by Simon James from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

You're All My Favorites by Sam McBratney from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

This is Our House by Michael Rosen from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

Tucker's Spooky Halloween by Leslie McGuirk from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

The Ravenous Beast by Niamh Sharkey from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

MNEMONIC DEVICE TO LEARN VOCABULARY

 

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THE STORY OF KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON

In the spring of 1939 during the build-up to war with Germany the British government commissioned a series of propaganda posters. These posters were intended to offer the public reassurance in the dark days that lay ahead. They were required to be uniform in style and would feature a special and handsome typeface making them difficult for the enemy to counterfeit. They used the crown of King George the 6th as the only graphic device and had just two colors. Of the three final designs that went to production, the first poster carried the slogan "YOUR COURAGE YOUR CHEERFULNESS YOUR RESOLUTION WILL BRING US VICTORY", the second poster had the words, "FREEDOM IS IN PERIL DEFEND IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT", but the third design, of which over two and a half million posters were printed simply read, "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON". The first two designs were distributed in September of 1939 and appeared up and down the country in shop windows and railway platforms but the Keep Calm posters were held in reserve intended for use only in times of crisis or invasion. In the end the poster was never officially issued and it remained unseen by the public until a copy turned up more than 50 years later. It was found in a second hand book shop called Barter books in the north east corner of England. Barter books was begun in 1991 by a couple Stuart and Mary Manley. The building used to be an old Victorian railway station. Huge rows of stacked shelves now stand in the place where the tracks would have been but the station's old tea rooms and waiting rooms are still there. It was in 2000 that Stuart found the poster in a box of dusty old books that had been bought at auction. Mary liked it so much she had it framed and put up near the shop till and it proved so popular with the customers that a year later they began to sell copies. Since that time the poster has been reproduced, parodied, trivialized and has become a truly iconic image of the 21st century. It is hard to say exactly why such a phrase from a by-gone decade would have so much appeal and resonance now. Its design is considered simple and timeless and now commonly recognizable however it is perhaps the words on the poster that people find most enchanting. Like a voice out of history it offers a very simple warm-hearted message to inspire confidence in others during difficult times and its something that should never fade from fashion, to Keep Calm and Carry On.

11 MUST-SEE LESSONS FROM TED-ED

1. QUESTIONS NO ONE KNOWS THE ANSWER TO.

2 .WHY IS YAWNING CONTAGIOUS?

3. JUST HOW SMALL IS AN ATOM?

4. ARE ELVISH, KLINGON, DOTHRAKI AND NA'VI REAL LANGUAGES?

5. HOW SUGAR AFFECTS THE BRAIN.

6. HOW TO BUILD A FICTIONAL WORLD.

7. WHAT MAKES TATTOOS PERMANENT?

8. DARK MATTER: THE MATTER WE CAN'T SEE.

9. THE SCIENCE OF STAGE FRIGHT (AND HOW TO OVERCOME IT).

10. HOW PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT BENEFITS YOUR BRAIN.

11. EXPLORING OTHER DIMENSIONS.

HOW THE BERLIN WALL FELL

A BRIEF STORY OF MELANCHOLY

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE SOMEONE'S VOICE

LOOK UP, by Gary Turk

I have 422 friends yet I am lonely
I speak to all of them everyday yet none of them really know me
The problem I have sits in the space in-between
Looking into their eyes or at a name on a screen
I took a step back and opened my eyes
I looked round and realised
This media we call social is anything but
when we open our computers and it’s our doors we shut
All this technology we have it’s just an illusion
Community, companionship, a sense of inclusion
When you step away from this device of delusion
You awaken to see a world of confusion
A world where we’re slaves to the technology we mastered
Where information gets sold by some rich, greedy bastard
A world of self-interest, self-image, self-promotion
Where we all share our best bits but leave out the emotion
We’re at our most happy with an experience we share
But is it the same if no one is there?
Be there for your friends and they’ll be there too
But no one will be if a group message will do
We edit and exaggerate, crave adulation
We pretend not to notice the social isolation
We put our words into order till our lives are glistening
We don’t even know if anyone is listening
Being alone isn’t the problem let me just emphasise
If you read a book, paint a picture, or do some exercise
You’re being productive and present not reserved and reclused
You’re being awake and attentive and putting your time to good use
So when you’re in public and you start to feel alone
Put your hands behind your head, step away from the phone
You don’t need to stare at your menu or at your contact list
Just talk to one another, learn to co-exist
I can’t stand to hear the silence of a busy commuter train
When no one wants to talk for the fear of looking insane
We’re becoming unsocial, it no longer satisfies
To engage with one another and look into someone’s eyes.
We’re surrounded by children who since they were born
Have watched us living like robots and think it’s the norm
It’s not very likely you’ll make world’s greatest Dad
If you can’t entertain a child without using an iPad
When I was a child I’d never be home
I’d be out with my friends, on our bikes we’d roam
I’d wear holes in my trainers and graze up my knees
Or build our own clubhouse high up in the trees
Now the park is so quiet it gives me a chill
See no children outside and the swings hanging still
There’s no skipping, no hopscotch, no church and no steeple
We’re a generation of idiots, smart phones and dumb people
So look up from your phone, shut down the display
Take in your surroundings, make the most of today
Just one real connection is all it can take
To show you the difference that being there can make
Be there in the moment as she gives you the look
That you remember forever as when love overtook
The time she first held your hand or first kissed your lips
The time you first disagreed but still loved her to bits
The time you don’t have to tell hundreds of what you’ve just done
Because you want to share this moment with just this one.
The time you sell your computer so you can buy a ring
For the girl of your dreams who is now the real thing
The time you want to start a family and the moment when
You first hold your little girl and get to fall in love again
The time she keeps you up at nights and all you want is rest
And the time you wipe away the tears as your baby flees the nest
The time your baby girl returns with a boy for you to hold
And the time he calls you Grandad and makes you feel real old
The time you take in all you’ve made when you’re giving life attention
And how you’re real glad you didn’t waste it by looking down at some invention
The time you hold your wife’s hand, sit down beside her bed.
You tell her that you love her, lay a kiss upon her head.
She then whispers to you quietly as her heart gives a final beat
That she’s lucky she got stopped by that lost boy in the street
But none of these times ever happened. You never had any of this
When you’re too busy looking down, you don’t see the chances you miss
So look up from your phones, shut down those displays
We have a finite existence, a set number of days
Don’t waste your life getting caught in the net
because when the end comes, nothing’s worse than regret
I am guilty too of being part of this machine
this digital world we are heard but not seen
where we type as we talk and read as we chat
where we spend hours together without making eye-contact
So don’t give in to a life where you follow the hype
Give people your love, don’t give them your “like”
Disconnect from the need to be heard and defined
Go out into the world, leave distractions behind
Look up from your phone, shut down the display
Stop watching this video, live life the real way.

WORD CRIMES, by "Weird Al" Yankovic